demonize
/ˈdiːmənaɪz/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.61 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "President Trump has seized on the response in the streets to police brutality against Black men and women to bolster his re-election campaign, employing provocative and sometimes incendiary language and images to incite his followers, demonize his opponents or both."
- "He calls for a “massive, urgent recruitment effort,” which is a fine idea, but one that’s likely to be futile unless we stop demonizing teachers and start paying them fairly."
- "It brags “we can replace them”—and gaslights and demonizes those who notice and object to being replaced."
- "Many people disagree with several things society has normalized, some of which are even demonized. Frustratingly, attaching a stigma to perfectly reasonable things makes people feel attacked when they publicly do them. Here are 18 things that society has unfairly demonized that should be considered normal."
Etymology
From Medieval Latin daemonizō, from daemon + -izō. Compare Ancient Greek δαιμονίζομαι (daimonízomai, “to be possessed by a demon”), from δαίμων (daímōn, “demon”). By surface analysis, demon + -ize.
Word Breakdown
- Root: daemonizō
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /ˈdiːmənaɪz/